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Delicious is often harmful. Especially when it comes to desserts and alcohol. We were all ears buzzed about the perniciousness of these two components. But sometimes you really want to treat yourself to some liquor!
We asked sommelier, coach and co-owner of the wine and cocktail bar Rinat Aslyamov about what to look for when buying this drink in a store or bar in order to choose the right liquor and what to combine it with
What are liqueurs
– Real liquor can only be creamy or vanilla-chocolate?
– It’s a delusion. There are many liqueurs – mint, strawberry, chocolate with spices, herbal, citrus.
How to avoid fake
– There is a lot of sugar and ethyl alcohol in the liquor. Perhaps it is easier to fake than other alcoholic drinks?
– Not. There are brands whose production is so confused that it is extremely difficult to fake. In general, among liquors, counterfeit is less common than among other types of alcohol, because it is an expensive and less popular product than wine, vodka, whiskey or cognac.
There was a case in Sochi when craftsmen brewed alcohol with condensed milk and then passed it off as an elite cream liqueur. So take liquors only in supermarkets or specialized stores: they will not allow counterfeit sales.
How to properly store liquor
Where is the liquor stored?
A closed bottle can be stored in a closet, pantry, cellar, on the balcony. But make sure that the temperature does not rise above + 18 … + 20 degrees and there is no direct sunlight. This rule also applies when buying in a store: do not take a bottle that has stood in the sun.
– An open bottle (it should be glass, high-quality liquor is not produced in plastic) is best kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of +3 degrees. It is recommended to drink it within six months. If stored longer, the drink will begin to delaminate into fractions.
– How to understand that the liquor has gone bad?
– The strong taste of alcohol. It happens that the expiration date has not yet passed, but instead of sweetness, first of all, an alcohol taste is felt. This indicates improper storage or forgery.
In a quality liquor, sweetness is first felt, which is replaced by the taste of the next component. If the drink is fruity, fruit will be felt, if it is herbal, a slight bitterness will be felt.
What to combine liquor with
What is the best way to drink liquor?
The snack is difficult to find due to the high sugar content. The drink will overshadow any other component that ends up in the mouth. You simply will not feel the snack.
Liqueurs should be drunk chilled, the taste of sugar decreases, the aroma appears. Liqueurs are best served on ice. There are types that can be combined with beer. For example, herbal liqueurs. You take a glass of beer, put a chilled Becherovka next to it. You drink a good portion of beer and take a sip of liquor. Good gastronomic combination. The bitterness of hops, which is contained in beer, is perfectly complemented by the sweetness of liquor. If you like light varieties, then accompany it with Jägermeister liqueur.
Liquor goes well with coffee. But don’t mix them up. Try taking a sip of espresso and then sipping some liquor. Some people like the combination of black tea with liquor. But here it all depends on your preferences.
In France, blackcurrant liqueur is mixed with mineral water in a ratio of one to five. 40 ml of soda is added to 200 ml of liquor. The drink is served cold. It is usually consumed in the summer when it is hot.
How much liquor can you drink
Experts advise not to abuse sweet alcoholic beverages. If you really want liquor, then it is better to take no more than two glasses per evening, because this drink has a fairly high content of alcohol (from 15 to 75%) and sugar (100 ml per liter is the minimum amount of sweet ingredients in a drink, some liqueurs contain up to 400 ml).
“Alcohol itself is detrimental to the liver. Even in minimal doses. After each glass, some liver cells die. Although this organ regenerates itself by 80%, but if you add sugar to alcohol, you get a cocktail that is double harmful, warns nutritionist, nutrition specialist Julia Aleshina.